"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." (Maya Angelou)

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Urban Diary

An Africa-shaped
puddle greets me as soon as I pull into the car park. A remnant of last night’s
heavy rainfall, this is a reminder that we still have some (wet) autumn to hang
on to, even if this year one of my two favourite seasons (the other one is
spring) has faded away faster than before. This time I have chosen Tottenham
Marshes as the location for this section.Because of the
“urban” in the title of this regular column, I have made the mistake of writing
more about metropolitan, inner-city London than the green one. Yet, the British
capital has some of the most breath-taking outdoor areas, not just in Europe,
but also in the world. Tottenham Marshes is an excellent example.The low wetlands
sit on either side of the River Lee Navigation which runs from Hertfordshire,
in the north and outside London, to the Thames in the heart of the city.There is a wealth of wildlife to find here,
including voles and kestrels, the latter usually hunting the former.

Hi ACIL ... the area sounds wonderful and was I think part of the refurbishment for the Olympic Park and River Lea project. When I was looking for tiles depicting names of London Underground stations ...the Tottenham Hale one came up ... it's on my 5th July 2013 post. It explains too - how the stations used these tile pictures to show people who couldn't read, where they were 150 years ago ...

So I hope you return and tell us more ... interesting to see the canal boats there ... cheers Hilary

It was indeed part of the Olympics refurbishment work. My plan is pretty soon cylce from Lewisham in southeast London up the A102, across the Thames and follow the River Lea trail all the way to Broxbourne in Hertforshire. I have no idea how many miles that will be but I can't wait! :-)

For someone who lives many miles away from our Capital City it is difficult to think that lovely open spaces can be found. Images of buildings and more buildings tend to dominate the mind. Thanks for reminding me.

I hope you go back when the weather is a little more hospitable, so you can take some pictures to share with us. I can't resist beautiful outdoor spaces, especially when there's a lot of wildlife to be seen. (In addition to my husband, that is,,,) Have a super weekend!

About Me

Look well to this day for it is life,
the very best of life. In its brief course lie all the realities and truths of existence, the joy of growth, the splendour of action, the glory of power. For yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is only a vision. But today if well-lived makes every yesterday a memory of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day.
(Ancient Sanskrit Poem)